A Primrose for Mirror
by Morgan D.

Glossary:
Kaijuu - monster
Ohayou - Good morning!
Osoi - late
Gaki - brat
Kagami - mirror

Part III
Mirror and the Mistress' Brother

He was late. His little sister would certainly welcome him with a grumpy pout for that. Or worse, the Kaijuu might actually seize the opportunity to pay him back for his usual morning teasing, for every single "Ohayou!" he had returned with an "Osoi!"

That should be enough to convince him to pedal his bike faster.

But it was hard to, considering he had left his heart about a mile behind.

What if Yuki didn't make it home? What if he collapsed on the way? What if he fell asleep while crossing the street, right in front of a speeding car? Touya had wanted to escort his friend home, make sure he got there safely, but... One, Touya had agreed to meet Sakura at the end of their classes so they could go together to buy their father's Christmas present. Two, he had been foolish enough to tell Yuki about that, and Yuki would not hear of standing Sakura up — neither would the angel, Touya strongly suspected. And three, Akizuki Nakuru. Or whatever the being behind that form was. Akizuki would not leave Touya alone with Yuki if she could prevent it.

There was obviously a purpose behind Akizuki's constant interruptions and clinging to him, Touya was sure of that. However, he was still a little confused about her ultimate intentions. She didn't want Yuki to learn about his true nature? Well, apparently she wasn't the only one. Sakura didn't seem to want that either. Neither did Sakura's stuffed toy. The gaki hadn't shown any interest in revealing the truth to Yuki — in fact, the gaki seemed to have lost interest in Yuki almost entirely, and Touya wasn't all that sure he appreciated the sudden change.

And if Touya were to be honest with himself, he wasn't sure he was that eager to let Yuki know of the angel's existence. Because... if Yuki were to know about his other self... would there still be a reason for Yuki to live on? Or was the gentle hazel-eyed Snow Bunny a vaporous mirage that would vanish forever at the sound of his true name?

And what was Yuki's true name after all?

Touya shook his head, trying to swallow his bitter, pointless selfishness. He wasn't blind. He could pretend to be in front of all the others, but he couldn't lie to himself. Yuki's increasing appetite and weakness couldn't be natural. Touya was sure it meant the beginning of something much more terrible and frightening, and Yuki's obliviousness to the process was, to say the least, exasperating. Something had to be done, or else the matter of letting Yuki know the truth or not might too soon become a moot point.

Something had to be done... but what?

The basic answer was simple. If your friend is hungry, you feed him. If your friend needs money, you give it to him. If your friend needs blood, you arrange a transfusion.

If your friend's magic is failing...

The final answer should be simple too. Yuki was more, so much more than a friend. And Touya had what Yuki needed to be well again.

So why wasn't the answer simple? Why couldn't Touya push Akizuki aside and make the offer that would make everything all right?

He turned the corner, both relieved and repentant. He could see the gates of Tomoeda Elementary School already, and the small auburn-haired figure standing at the entrance. The lively Kaijuu would certainly pull his thoughts away from such grim musings.

However, the more he avoided the issue, the weaker Yuki would grow.

"Sakura!"

With a startled jolt, the girl looked up, apparently emerging from her own gloomy meditation. She didn't look angry about his delay at all. Conversely, a worried expression was stealing the shine of her emerald eyes.

Touya became immediately concerned. "Have you waited long...?"

His almost apology died on his lips as he approached the gates, and turned into an impatient sigh even before he pushed the brakes to stop the bike beside Sakura.

Or rather, before that entity who was once again impersonating Sakura.

It was a bit hard not to think of it as an insult to his intelligence. Touya was reminded about an incident of long ago, when a six-year-old Sakura had tried to cover up for a hole she had made in his slippers by replacing them with hers, carefully painted exactly like his — naïvely forgetting that Touya's thirteen-year-old feet were a lot larger than hers.

This copy of Sakura was just as faulty. Sure, it duplicated her appearance, clothing and voice with astounding perfection, but the aura was all wrong. The cherry-perfumed light that always enclosed his little sister's presence was missing, and without it... The result was just as effective as the most impeccable plastic replicas of food dishes on display in restaurant windows: beautiful, admirable, but scentless, flavorless.

Of course, the copy had a sprightliness of its own, a vigorous halo of power and sweetness, of mystery and comfort, of Darkness and Moon magic. Touya felt bad about thinking of it as an "it", as a matter of fact. After all, although gender was hard to tell with such beings — it certainly was with the angel —, there was something markedly female to this one.

The concerned frown vanished from the copy's face, as she remembered to play her role. "Hmm... Shall we go?" she asked with a lovely smile.

"She had another emergency, didn't she?" Touya asked her, straight to the point.

The poor entity paled, realizing that once again she wouldn't be able to deceive him. "Uh... well, I..."

Touya felt the surge of power soaring somewhere to his left, way behind the school building, possibly nearby the wood where Sakura's copy had taken him the year before. The same aura he had sensed in his bike a few days before, and in that endless rain that had struck Tomoeda at the start of school term, and in all those strange events that...

...that coincided with the time Yuki began to grow hungrier and weaker.

No coincidences in this world. Only the inevitable.

"She went this way," he muttered to himself. "But if I go after her, she'll only get into more trouble." Touya wasn't supposed to interfere. He had learned that lesson quickly, by having to put up with all the so-called coincidences that had placed Yuki in his way whenever he had tried to assist his little sister.

Besides, if he went after the Kaijuu, the angel might try to send Yuki to distract him again. And forcing Yuki to waste more energy was the last thing Touya wanted now.

He turned his attention back to Sakura's copy, who was looking down dejectedly. Touya couldn't help feeling some sympathy for her situation. It wasn't her fault if the stupid Kaijuu believed her older brother could be fooled like that. Moreover, if Sakura returned to find that they hadn't bought their father's present, the charade would be over. And it wasn't time for that yet. "Listen, would you like to go shopping with me?"

"Oh?" She perked up instantly. "Of course!"

"Can you ride on those?" he asked, pointing at the roller blades. She was getting to keep herself unnaturally stable on them, considering she was standing still. However, it would be just like Sakura to leave the copy to replace her without remembering to ask if she could ride on roller blades or not.

The girl-like being eyed the device on her feet suspiciously for a moment, then made a circle around Touya's bike, testing her balance. "Yes."

"Okay. Let's go then."

Touya pedaled slowly, giving his companion time to get used to that method of transportation. She didn't seem to be having much trouble though, even if she lacked Sakura's practice and skill. "What should I call you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you," Touya smiled gently. "It would be weird for me to call you Sakura. What's your name?"

She murmured something under her breath, very shyly. He had to lean over to hear her over the sound of the turning wheels of both bike and roller blades.

"Miraa?" he repeated. "Oh, do you mean 'Mirror'? Like 'kagami' in English?"

"Yes," she nodded. "That is my name."

"It's a pleasure to meet you then, Mirror," he said, bowing his head courteously. He wondered if he should add an honorific suffix to her name, but instinctively closed his mouth before any '-san' or '-chan' had the chance to come out.

Mirror didn't seem to mind, and managed a quite graceful bow even while sliding beside him and blushing like a ripe tomato. "It's a honor to meet the Mistress' brother."

Touya arched an eyebrow at the title, but didn't comment on it. "Sorry about last night."

"Uh?" Mirror blinked, confused.

"My father. It was you in my sister's bedroom last night, wasn't it?"

She bit her lip bashfully. "Ah. Yes," she sighed. "You noticed."

"I tried to keep my father from going in there to see you. But I couldn't be too obvious about it or he'd start thinking Sakura was sick or something. He doesn't have the skill to see past the disguise, as far as I know, but a father is likely to notice tiny differences most people would disregard."

Mirror nodded. "He gave me a funny look when I told him I was doing my homework," she admitted.

"Did you look too happy about it?"

"Hmm. I might have." She gazed sorrowfully at her hands. "The Mistress is always so cheerful..."

"Not about homework," Touya smirked. "Particularly math exercises. Next time you mention them, make a distressed pout like this..." He mimicked the Kaijuu's comical pouting the best he could. "...and it will work, don't worry."

Mirror covered her mouth to muffle a giggle.

Sakura's laughter was seldom contained like that, and Mirror most certainly knew it. Touya winked at her, glad for the precious chance of seeing the true soul behind the mask.

If only Touya could persuade the angel behind Yuki to give him a similar chance...

Part IV   coming soon
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